cryptic crosswords

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
crossword3.jpg


Across
5) See 4d
8) IST (10)
9) Throw out and behead the one sent away (5)
10) Shift bum over gap to make space for Rose (10)
11) “What?” “I agree!” (3)
12) Try-hard boffin drops the pepper! (5)
13) See 18d
16) Second-rate PC with shack (missing back) in this city (8,3,4)
17) Alcoholics Anonymous takes Moe and little boy into single cell (6)
19) Develop disease after crossing Italian river in reverse (3)
20) Obstruct Tories, then reverse it before fois gras (10)
22) Ancient king infuriated Simon (5)
23) Obstructed vehicle stank and lost direction (10)
24) The sex of Monsieur Beer (4)

Down
1) Not bothered about blasphemer missing religious education: give him a pat on the head! (9)
2) Beheaded, but nearly all do their best. (6)
3) Make note with two pencils – whatever! (4)
4), 5a) “Transparent like phone pioneer”? That's unambiguous! (2,5,2,1,4)
6) Takes pleasure in 'English Delights'? (6)
7) Wants to sound slack, kinda (5)
8) Silly cow bedded; covered in sticky strands!
13) Point company about stage for showing points (10)
14) One aim of Zen: attain mental state like 4 (5,4)
15) Heartily in accord, I ally with him (9)
17) Much left, after American chopper, of this amphibian? (6)
18) Tied – untied – untied! (6)
19) Semi-priapic, somewhat small column (5)
21) Senile Moses misses the point a bit (4)

(spelling error in 17d unfortunately - the answer is a letter short)

Please feel free to have a go, crossword peeps.
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich
OK, so I been doing more cryptic crosswords recently. The other day I almost finished one. Jenks - does the Guardian get harder through the week? Also, if you're just starting, the Evening Standard one has to be the easiest out there, so many of the words are two or three letters so once you've got one you can start filling in many more by trial and error until you find one that fits the clue.
 
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Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Yeah, the Grauniad starts out fairly doable on Monday and ends up like a psychological torture device by Saturday.

The Private Eye one is reasonable, I can usually do most of it and have finished it a few times. I also like it because it's typically very smutty.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
"Yeah, the Grauniad starts out fairly doable on Monday and ends up like a psychological torture device by Saturday.
The Private Eye one is reasonable, I can usually do most of it and have finished it a few times. I also like it because it's typically very smutty."
That's interesting cos i can usually fill in a few on the Guardian or Standard on the short bus ride to college or whatever (I never really hang on to these things long enough to really set about them systematically) but I've literally never got a single clue in Private Eye. It just seems like a slightly different wavelength which I've failed to get on.
 

paolo

Mechanical phantoms
The Big Issue cryptic is relatively easy but I've never managed to finish it. I can usually get a few in the Grauniad on Monday but Private Eye and Mr Tea's are beyond me
 

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
That's interesting cos i can usually fill in a few on the Guardian or Standard on the short bus ride to college or whatever (I never really hang on to these things long enough to really set about them systematically) but I've literally never got a single clue in Private Eye. It just seems like a slightly different wavelength which I've failed to get on.
It is, to some extent - you have to get used to some of their unique conventions (like "brenda" = "er" etc) and also to the fact that if the clue is smutty the answer almost certainly isn't and vice-versa.

I generally find Private Eye fairly doable...
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Cos Brenda is what they call the queen and ER is Elizabeth Regina which means... well I dunno what it means but something to do with the queen. It also sounds rude appropriately enough.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Would anyone care to road test this one for me?

gn5u.png


Across
5) & 7d) Discharge, shudder and ring in cold place. (6,6)
8) Conservative correct to drop nothing from opinion. (5,4)
9) Cat's foil, the Hun! (5)
10) Manage after apparent terrors in prediction. (9)
11) See 22a.
12) Includes messy sediments. (7)
14) Hand in plaything at ancient city. (4)
18) Twist knee or gone mad over mechanism. (3-6,6)
20) King makes a hash of itself. (4)
21) Mourns crippled New Testament saint, initially. (7)
22) & 11) Oily-sounding seabird? (6)
24) Little Stanley has strange morning, dropping in on tough guy. (9)
26) Right in middle of e.g. vinegar? Noxious! (5)
27) 'Loco loco' meshes computer systems. (9)
28) Gear can reverse spirit! (6)

Down
1) Foolishly, I stash car for antiques collectors.(9)
2) Stupidly, egg soars right at belligerent! (9)
3) Extended in a pinch. (2,1,7)
4) Measure of paraffin – or sherry? (4)
5) Very much a good hand! (1,5,4)
6) See 20d
7) See 6a
13) 'Chic toasts' – random? Random! (10)
15) Crazy, Nora, crazy – it's just for show! (10)
16) Short girl, insensitive, hesitates to count badly. (9)
17) Barca's Lionel burns sensi, resulting in chaos! (9)
19) Stir a cubic centimetre of eggnog initially into pale ale – it'll make you sick! (6)
20) & 6) Tangled set of ideas - hard to understand! (6,6)
25) Schedule in tarot almanac? (4)

Gonna send it to my old man tomorrow for his birthday (that's not a clue btw, it's just true).
 
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